Death SS

DEATH SS成里于1977年,是意大利,乃至歐洲最早的重金屬樂隊之一.主唱Steve Sylvester(SS)是樂隊的靈魂Y音樂題材是HORROR METAL(可能是最早玩這種風格的樂隊了) 這是支被人忽視的樂隊，80年代初便在不列顛新金屬浪潮中出世，是意大利最早一批搞金屬的樂隊之一，至今仍然活躍在金屬樂壇，就在2004年還在意大利開了巡回演唱會。盡管在中國Death SS鮮為人知，但在歐洲卻被公認為是意大利重金屬樂教父，樂隊出道早，但意識觀念確是超前的，團員皆做僵尸，木乃伊，獸人或惡魔的裝扮來呈現(xiàn)黑暗恐怖氣氛，甚至連黑金鐘慣用的符號象征都被采用，這對后來歐洲的黑死極端金屬文化的發(fā)展無疑有巨大的榜樣和啟示的作用。不過其實樂隊早期的音樂出了唱腔略狠以外，黑金的音樂成分很少，完全是傳統(tǒng)老金屬的風格，和當時的Saxon,Diamonds Head聽上去很是相似，到了80年代中后期樂隊在傳統(tǒng)老金屬的風格上向Speed和Power的方向發(fā)展，是歐洲最早的嘗試speed和Power樂風的金屬樂隊之一，這無疑又走在了歐洲金屬發(fā)展軌跡的最前沿，對其他的樂隊齊了無盡的引路作用，后來的事實證明Death SS的示范作用是多么的重要。到了90年代初在世界上激流金屬遍地開花之前頁，樂隊居然以更加猛烈的樂風玩起了Thrash,又稍稍領先了時代潮流一步，一直到1997 年的 Do What Thou Wilt還保留了明顯的激流金屬痕跡，也正是從這張專輯開始，到2000年前后，樂隊又嘗試著改變風格，玩起了工業(yè)和電子金屬，甚至都能聽出Nu- Metal的蛛絲馬跡。當然其實Death SS的音樂一直很復雜，從原聲吉他曲，男女聲對唱，到恐怖電影配樂，甚至前衛(wèi)的成分，他們都一直在或多或少的在作品里染指過，我實在是驚訝于樂隊無窮的追新求異的能力和開拓創(chuàng)新精神，這樣的樂隊足以堪稱金屬界的變色龍David Bowie,對他們表示敬意。
by Eduardo Rivadavia
Ever since their inception in the late 1970's, Italy's Death SS (i.e. "Death of Steve Sylvester") have been synonymous with the sub-genre known as horror metal -- a concept they helped pioneer and have since explored to greater lengths than arguably any other band on this, or any other world. Simply put, if the work of B-movie directing legend Roger Corman has a direct parallel in music, then Death SS is it.
Founded by the enigmatic Sylvester (a.k.a. "The Vampire"), reputedly as far back as 1977, Death SS toiled in total obscurity until 1981, when their evocatively-titled Horned God of the Witches demo began doing the rounds within the heavy metal tape-trading underworld. At this time also comprising guitarists Paul 'Death' Chain (a.k.a. Paolo Catena) and Claud 'Zombie' Galley, bassist Danny 'Mummy' Hughes and drummer Thomas 'Werewolf' Chaste (all of them naturally costumed according to their nicknames), the group eventually started landing tracks in compilation albums, and then self-released a number of E.P.s bearing colorful titles like Zombie/Terror, The Night of the Witch/Black Mummy and Profanation/Spiritualistic Séance. Marked by minimal recording fidelity but rich in sound effects and other theatrical accoutrements (all of them also crucial elements of the band's concerts, of course), these were later compiled into 1987's The Story of Death SS 1977-1984, which wiped the slate clean and permitted the now completely revamped line-up of Sylvester, guitarists Christian Wise and Kurt Templar, bassist Erik Landley and drummer Boris Hunter, to inaugurate their international career proper with the following year's In Death of Steve Sylvester. Since then, Death SS has recorded regularly, persevering in the underground and never losing sight of their horror metal vision, no matter how many musicians have sifted through their ranks. Needless to say, this is all due to Sylvester's single-minded devotion to his subject matter, a devotion which has earned this Mediterranean King Diamond a demi-legend all his own.